Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Playing With the Gelli Plate®

So, I've been playing with the Gelli Plate. If you haven't heard about it, then you may have had your head in the sand. Just kidding! It's really a hot ticket item in our ever growing mixed media world.
I initially made my own, because I just didn't want to invest the money in something that was going to be a passing fancy (remembering all of the silk thread embroidery, polymer clay, sewing projects, and pillows-waiting-to-be-covered in my basement), but I soon realized that I needed something a little more stable and predictable.
So, I invested in the 8 by 10 Gelli Plate. And boy, is it ever fun.

Here is my French manicure before playing. And before you judge me, I have NEVER had a professional manicure before. I have always done my own. I sure hope HubbyDoc knows how much money I've saved, doing my own manicures.

Here's one using bubble wrap, my own custom dot stencil, blank circles as a mask, and a rosette stamp after it was all dry.

Here's a ghost print that turned out very soft and subtle, which I really like.

I stamped my medallion stamp on the paint before I printed it on scrap paper.

This one was made with my custom circle and number stencils. I'm addicted to designing stencils and masks for my mixed media.

This one was just made from cleaning off my brayer, and using circles as a mask.

Another "clean the brayer" colorblock.

Cleaning the brayer again, with a stamp after it was dry. I love using my stack of old papers to add visual texture. This was a science project my homeschooled daughter did.

Circles and hearts as masks.

And you know all of those border punches that you keep forgetting to use...?

Here's a print with hearts as masks.

Using border punches print over a color block print.

Ghost print with border punch papers and heart masks over colorblock.

Using bird cage die cuts as masks.

Ghost print using border punch strips. This is going to be the base for something else, but I like it so much, I might just stamp it, or use one of my custom stencils on it.

This is one of my faves. I used a dabber first, a foam heart stamp, and a heart stamp that I cut out from a flip-flop.

All of these paints are from samples of Pratt and Lambert paint, which my local hardware store was phasing out. I've had these paints for two years, and I've not opened most of them. They were great to work with, but some of them, even unopened, were drying up to a modeling paste consistency. However, I was excited, because now I had instant modeling paste! Here's and example of how I used it.

And here's a better view of the dimension. I love it.

And, here's a look at the French manicure after all was said and done. Guess it's time to get the nail polish remover out. ;)

Very pretty prints! Isn't it fun playing and experimenting with a Gelli plate? I can't recycle a piece of paper now without seriously considering every single piece as a potential work of art. I'm getting just as bad with considering things for texture and mark making. :)

About Me

Hey, Peeps! Thanks for visiting. I'm excited that you're here, and my hope is that you receive some inspiration through reading my blog. I am a stencil designer and have an Etsy shop where you can see my original designs at www.howsewears.etsy.com . I love crafting of pretty much any kind, and it has become such an obsession that I had to open a shop! I love doing custom orders, so please feel free to ask. Tami